New Milton House

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 82 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The provider had a well-established staff team who worked well together towards a common goal of providing quality person centred care. Agency staff had been used however they had been regular and worked to the services values.

The provider had plans to extend service provision at New Milton House. They had developed the premises to include a well-equipped gym for people and staff member’s use and had allocated a room solely for short term respite care between 2 nights and 4 weeks. This was to support people in the community with respite needed for short breaks and to support transition into a care setting should they wish to do so.

In addition, the provider was committed to their remit of being a residential care provider in the main. They provided a service for people living with dementia however when this became more advanced people moved to more appropriate service settings. To smooth this transition, the provider hoped in the future to develop additional accommodation for people living with advanced dementias so they could gradually transfer as their condition changed.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The interim manager was the substantive deputy manager who was providing cover for the extended leave of the registered manager. The nominated individual had also taken a more hands on role during the leave. In addition, they had recruited a compliance officer to complete audits and monitoring to ensure regulatory requirements were met.

Feedback from relatives reflected there was some confusion about who the management team were, and some feedback indicated they would like more access to the nominated individual who was not always available to them. However, other relatives knew who both the registered and interim managers were and accessed senior care staff should they need anything.

Staff feedback was positive about leaders being supportive and approachable however there was a theme to feedback of staff wanting the management team to be more visible around the care home and less office based.

The management team were open with the inspection team and responded promptly to areas we had concerns with.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up, and their voice would be heard.

The safeguarding policy and procedure had a section on whistleblowing and there was a separate whistleblowing procedure. Staff who were concerned about colleagues or people using the service were required to speak up and report their concerns. The management team were committed to encouraging staff to feel able to be open and honest with them without fear of reprisal. Staff mostly told us they felt listened to by the management team.

The policy offered staff alternative people and organisations they could approach to whistle blow who could assist should they not feel comfortable approaching the management team, or if the management team were the subject of their concerns. One of the options was the providers freedom to speak up guardian. However, the policy did not provide their name meaning staff could not approach them directly.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

There was a diverse team working at New Milton House supporting people who were much less diverse which reflected the local demographic. At Christmas, the provider held a staff event where staff bought foods from their cultures to share with colleagues and aid learning about each other.

Staff completed training in equality and diversity that was refreshed annually. The provider also arranged themed days based on festivals for different cultures and celebrated events such as Pride days. Some people did not enjoy these events; however, it was believed this was because of not enjoying whole day events rather than having any prejudice about the themes. The provider had issued a survey about activities to learn more about people’s preferences for future events.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

The provider had recently recruited to a compliance officer role to ensure all audits and checks were completed. This was timed to coincide with the deputy manager taking on the interim managers role and had eased the transition.

There were some areas where the provider was not working in line with best practice, however following our inspection they updated us with additional information to show improvement in all areas we had noted. We will assess the sustainability of these improvements at our next assessment.

There were regular audits and a service improvement plan in place which were regularly completed and updated with actions taken. In addition, some longer-term plans of developing a second, dementia specialist service were in the early stages. This would mean people could transition from New Milton House to a more appropriate service when their dementia progressed.

The provider clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in

partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and

learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The provider worked to develop relationships with community partners, and to invite members of the local community into the service. For example, while many of the current residents of New Milton House could independently access the community, the provider had sourced 2 visiting chiropodists, a clinic to address spectacle and hearing aid needs and a dental service to provide in home services to people. They also had 2 visiting hairdressers each week.

The provider had also developed positive relationships with a local school, college and a university. Pupils, students and interns had spent time at New Milton House and had both benefited from the experience and had bought their own skills including marketing expertise.

The new gym opened in October 2025 was predominantly developed to support people using the service, however the gym was also available to staff members. Group sessions were provided and, on each Thursday, the gym had been offered to other local care homes who could visit to use the facilities. Local healthcare professionals also had access to the gym to support patients.

The provider supported local businesses where it could. They had committed to using seasonal and local foods and wherever possible purchased food from their locality and supported people to grow their own vegetables.

The provider understood the importance of being well known with a good reputation locally and as a result had been nominated for and benefitted from a grant to purchase a new minibus which was enabling people to access the community more frequently.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The provider had developed new forms for care recording. Before implementing them, they had asked for advice from a healthcare professional so they could ensure they had included all necessary information.

There were regular meetings and handovers where information about people was shared, any accidents and incidents discussed, and at times used as case studies to prevent reoccurrences